Determined Debbie

Saturday, Jan. 13, 2001 | 10:31 a.m.

These days Debbie Reynolds should be singing "I Ain't Down Yet," from "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."

In spite of a bruised heel she received in a fall during a New Year's Eve performance at the Orleans, the tireless entertainer will be back on the casino's showroom stage for an engagement Thursday through Jan. 21.

Also, on Saturday she will be named Woman of the Year by the Nevada Ballet Theatre during its annual Black and White Ball.

Of all the films Reynolds has made in her 50-year career, her favorite is the aforementioned "Molly Brown," for which she received an Academy Award nomination.

Over the years Reynolds, 68, has taken the movie's theme to heart -- she refuses to be defeated. In 1955 she married singer Eddie Fisher, who dumped her and his career for Elizabeth Taylor.

A Las Vegas hotel that Reynolds bought in 1993 turned into her own personal Titanic. After spending millions renovating the property, it went bankrupt in 1998.

Still she moved forward. She had roles in the 1996 movie "Mother" and "In and Out" the following year. She voiced the grandmother Lulu role in last year's animated feature "Rugrats in Paris: the Movie."

Meanwhile on television Reynolds has a recurring role as the mother of Grace on the NBC sitcom "Will & Grace." Next month she begins filming a sequel to the 1998 Disney Channel movie "Halloweentown." Also, a made-for-TV movie, "These Old Broads," in which she co-stars with Taylor, is set to air Feb. 12 on ABC.

Las Vegas Sun: Why, at this stage of your life, do you work so hard?

Debbie Reynolds: When I lost (the hotel) I had to go back on the road again. Losing it was devastating to me. I put all my retirement money into it. That's why I built the place. I wanted to stay in Vegas, where I've been a (part-time) resident for over 37 years. I love Vegas. I have lived and worked there forever. It's a great, fun, fabulous city. I have always worked there. Now I work the Orleans. It's (one of) the only hotels that books variety performers.

Sun: How much time do you spend on the road?

DR: Forty-two weeks a year. My hobby is my work. I love my work. If you love what you do, it's not work. It's what I want to do. I might work too hard, but I'm like George Burns. I'm afraid if I turn down a job, I may never get another one. Traveling is very hard. Work is fun, but traveling is hard. I'm always on the road.

Sun: Things have changed since you first played Las Vegas.

DR: Las Vegas is totally different. Before, there were always star names (performing): Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Danny Kaye, Danny Thomas, (Dean) Martin and (Jerry) Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte. Now Caesars has closed their showroom and the D.I. is closed. It's a crying shame. A lot of us would love to work Las Vegas all the time. Now there are very few venues for live variety performers like myself.

The people I have named are not just animal acts. Everything today is just magicians. New York City has lasted a long time by having plays and stars. Vegas always did. It's a shame that we don't have it now. But I work at the Orleans and I'm happy with that. Luckily, Mr. Gaughan -- Michael Gaughan, who owns the Orleans -- is still going for the star attraction.

Sun: Many older entertainers complain they can't get work.

DR: I've been very fortunate. I sing and dance and I have always worked in theaters. I moved out into different paths (not just films) many years ago. I've been playing Las Vegas since the '60s, first at the Riviera and then the Desert Inn for 20-something years. I was called the million-dollar baby at the Desert Inn. I worked there 20 weeks a year, and the Riviera and the Dunes. I've worked everywhere they've blown up.

Sun: You said the favorite film you have made was "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." What about "Tammy?"

DR: "Tammy" was a hit song and a very sweet film, but it was not a great story. It was a sweet film -- all my films are family films.

Sun: You've just completed a made-for-TV movie called "These Old Broads," written by your daughter Carrie Fisher and co-starring Elizabeth Taylor. What was that like?

DR: It's a comedy -- a wild zany, crazy comedy. Elizabeth Taylor (plays) our agent -- there are three girls, Joan Collins, Shirley MacLaine and me. Elizabeth was our agent. She's retired now, but comes back to make a deal with all these young, cocky agents that she proceeds to cream. It's a very funny picture. They're just editing it now. Carrie wrote it, with Elaine Pope.

Sun: Do you have any other projects planned with your daughter?

DR: Not at this time. She writes a lot of different things. She's called a "script doctor." She's brought in to make a script funnier. She works all the time. This is our first project together. She's very good, but we have nothing planned in the future.

Sun: Was there any tension, working with Elizabeth Taylor?

DR: Elizabeth Taylor and I have known each other since the age of 17. What went on in the old days was over long ago.